JA Programs

JA BizTown combines in-class learning with a day-long visit to a simulated town. This popular learning experience allows elementary school students to visit BizTown, where they become Citizens in a simulated town. They will have the opportunity to operate banks, manage restaurants, write checks, and vote for the mayor. Students can connect the dots between what they learn in school and the real world.

JA BizTown is recommended for grades 4–6. The learning experience is a JA Capstone program and is available for classroom-based, self-guided, or remote classroom implementation. It includes 12 teacher-led sessions before the visit to BizTown and one session following the simulation, with a 4–5 hour visit to a hands-on simulated community or a virtual simulation.

In JA Career Speaker Series, a volunteer guest speaker visits the classroom and shares information about his or her career, work, and education experience. The speaker may bring props, work samples, or other visuals to help engage students.

Following participation in the learning experience, students will be able to:

• Identify skills and interests.
• Recognize career clusters.
• Practice active listening skills.

JA Career Speaker Series is part of the JA Work and Career Readiness Pathway and can be placed in grades K–12. The learning experience is available in classroom based, remote synchronous, recorded video, or after-school/out-of-school Implementation. Activities and implementation design vary based on grade level.

JA teachers and volunteers are encouraged, as part of this learning experience, to utilize the resources available in JA Connect® Learning Pathways, located at connect.ja.org. This self-guided experience includes interactives, JA Here to Career™, games and apps for student use.

JA Learning Experiences support national and state standards in reading, mathematics, social studies, and work and career readiness. See below for more information on alignment with national and state standards.

Junior Achievement USA gratefully acknowledges Citi Foundation for its dedication to the development and implementation of JA Career Speaker Series.

JA Our City featuring Cha-Ching™ introduces students to financial literacy and learning objectives for social studies, including how people manage their money and the importance of economic exchange within a city. Dr. Alice Wilder, an award-winning expert on childhood learning (Blue's Clues, SUPER WHY, Cha-Ching, Speakaboos, and Amazon Kids original programming), consulted on the learning experiences redevelopment.

JA Our City is recommended for third-graders. It’s a volunteer-led, kit-based learning experience available for classroom-based or remote classroom implementation. It includes five 45-minute sessions, with additional extended learning activities and optional digital assets offered throughout. Spanish translation is available for JA Our City. New features include Cha-Ching financial literacy music video enhancements, digital posters and games for use in the classroom, extended learning opportunities and optional supplements, and augmented reality activities to do at home.

The JA Our Community program emphasizes work readiness intersected with social studies learning objectives. Topics include careers, production, innovation, earning, taxes, government, money, business, and decision-making. The student will develop a sense of career awareness and learn how all jobs help a community. The theme throughout the curriculum will emphasize how they, as citizens, benefit from and contribute to a community’s success in the future. Students will come to see how a community works together to be successful.

JA Our Community is recommended for second graders. It’s a volunteer-led, kit-based learning experience available for classroom-based or remote classroom implementation. It includes five 40-minute sessions, with additional extended learning activities and optional digital assets offered throughout.

JA Our Families introduces students to learning objectives for first-grade social studies, including families, neighborhoods, money, and needs and wants. Through hands-on classroom activities, first-grade students will also explore the concept of entrepreneurship, specifically how businesses provide goods, services, and jobs for families.

JA Our Families is recommended for first graders. It’s a volunteer-led, kit-based learning experience available for classroom-based or remote classroom implementation. It includes five 30-minute sessions, with additional extended learning activities and optional digital assets offered throughout.

JA Our Nation introduces students to the intersection of work readiness and upper elementary grade social studies learning objectives. Through hands-on classroom activities, the learning experience provides students with practical information about the nation's free-market system and how it serves as an economic engine for businesses and careers. It also introduces the need for entrepreneurial and innovative thinking to meet the requirements of high-growth, high-demand careers and the concept of globalization in business.

JA Our Nation is recommended for fifth-graders. It’s a volunteer-led, kit-based learning experience available for classroom-based or remote classroom implementation. It includes five 45-minute sessions and one optional supplemental session, with additional extended learning activities and optional digital assets offered throughout.

JA Our Region introduces students to entrepreneurship and upper elementary grade social studies learning objectives, including regions, resources, supply chains, and problem-solving. The experience provides students with a practical approach to starting a business while preparing them to be entrepreneurial in their thinking to meet the requirements of a demanding and ever-changing workforce.

JA Our Region is recommended for fourth graders. It’s a volunteer-led, kit-based learning experience available for classroom-based or remote classroom implementation. It includes five 45-minute sessions, with additional extended learning activities and optional digital assets offered throughout.

JA Ourselves introduces students to the intersection of financial literacy and early elementary grades social studies learning objectives. Through hands-on classroom activities, the learning experience provides students with an introduction to personal economics and the choices consumers make to meet their needs and wants. It also introduces students to the role of money in society while providing them with practical information about earning, saving, and sharing money.

JA Ourselves is recommended for kindergartners. It’s a volunteer-led, kit-based learning experience available for classroom-based or remote classroom implementation. It includes five 30-minute sessions, with additional extended learning activities and optional digital assets offered throughout.